Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov 14;14(11):2520.
doi: 10.3390/v14112520.

Monkeypox and Pregnancy: Latest Updates

Alexandre Cuérel  1 , Guillaume Favre  1 , Manon Vouga  1 , Léo Pomar  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Monkeypox and Pregnancy: Latest Updates

Alexandre Cuérel et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has emerged as a threatening zoonosis. Its spread around the world has been growing fast over the last 2 years, particularly in 2022. The reasons for this sudden spread are probably multifactorial. The R0 values of the two MPXV clades are rather low, and a massive pandemic is considered unlikely, although the increase in the number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms found in the 2022 MPXV strain could indicate an accelerated human adaptation. Very little is known about the risks of an infection during pregnancy for both the mother and the fetus. Further observations must be made to create clear, adapted, evidence-based guidelines. This article summarizes the current knowledge about MPXV infections and similar pregnancy virus infections.

Keywords: delivery; miscarriage; monkeypox; orthopox; pregnancy; smallpox; vaccine; vertical transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Monkeypox virus. Schematic representation of a poxvirus particle. Adapted from Principles of Molecular Virology, 6th Edition (p. 46), by Alan J. Cann, 2016, UK: Elsevier. Copyright 2016 by Elsevier. License number for the reuse of this figure: 5415960043412.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Skin and soft tissue manifestations of monkeypox. Skin and soft tissue features included: (A,D) vesicular or pustular lesions; (B,C) macular lesions involving the palms and soles; (D,E) a sub-ungual lesion; (F,G) more subtle papules and smaller vesicles; (H) and a deep abscess (arrow, image obtained during ultrasound-guided drainage). From: Adler H, Wingfield T, Price NM: Clinical Features and Management of Human Monkeypox: A Retrospective Observational Study, in the UK Lancet Infect Dis 2022; 22: 1153-62. Copyright 2022 by Elsevier. License number for the reuse of this figure: 5414980739216.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proposed follow-up in the case of MXPV infection during pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cho C.T., Wenner H.A. Monkeypox virus. Bacteriol. Rev. 1973;37:1–18. doi: 10.1128/br.37.1.1-18.1973. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breman J.G., Kalisa R., Steniowski M.V., Zanotto E., Gromyko A.I., Arita I. Human monkeypox, 1970–79. Bull. World Health Organ. 1980;58:165–182. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ladnyj I.D., Ziegler P., Kima E. A human infection caused by monkeypox virus in Basankusu Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bull. World Health Organ. 1972;46:593–597. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nolen L.D., Osadebe L., Katomba J., Likofata J., Mukadi D., Monroe B., Doty J., Hughes C.M., Kabamba J., Malekani J., et al. Extended Human-to-Human Transmission during a Monkeypox Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2016;22:1014–1021. doi: 10.3201/eid2206.150579. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO Monkeypox. [(accessed on 29 October 2022)]; Available online: https://www.who.int/healthtopics/monkeypox/#tab=tab_1.